Comparing Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The author, Steinbeck, uses his own personal experience to “serve as an inspiration…” (Johnson 1) when writing this particular story. His past experiences also helped him for the future. Lennie, of all characters, is the least dynamic. He undergoes a significant amount of change and develops throughout the story. He has been isolated with George throughout his life. His sole purpose in life is to make George happy and to own a farm with George and take care of the soft rabbits. Lennie is the most innocent and defenseless. He also is the largest and strongest, which does not help in certain situations. Lennie is the protagonist in the story. He gains the readers sympathy by his intellectual disability and helplessness. Lennie murders things by accident such as the mouse in his pocket, the puppy and Curley’s wife. He enjoys the touch of and somehow uses those murders and experiences to scare him from doing it again. George’s opinion means the most to him.

“Of Mice and Men,” a novel written by John Steinbeck, and “To a Mouse,” a poem written by Robert Burns, are similar not just by coincidence. Though 152 years apart in age, evidence of the poem’s influence is easily seen in Steinbeck’s work. The most notable influence is the title, of course, which is directly taken from a quote in the poem. Though this instance is quite apparent, the influence doesn’t stop there. “Of Mice and Men” and “To a Mouse” have several similar thematic structures, including characters, plot similarities, and setting.

Like the man, Lennie’s actions/brute force result in unintended harm. This is evident through Lennie’s encounters first with the pup and later with Curley’s wife. It is also demonstrated anecdotally with tales of unfortunate mice from Lennie’s childhood.

Of Mice of Men is a book that tells a story of dreams and friendship. The story is set in the Salinas Valley near a ranch in Soledad. The main characters’ names are George and Lennie. Lennie is a strong, heavy-set, tall man. Lennie is very weak minded and suffers from a serious mental illness where he forgets things a lot. George is very different. George is slimmer, shorter, and perhaps more wise. Despite George and Lennie’s differences, they don’t get in the way of their friendship.

Nobody but the reader knows what happened between Lennie and Curley's wife in the barn. George was not there. He only saw the girl's dead body. To everyone it looked like a case of murder in connection with an attempted rape. What actually happened, as we know, was different. Lennie got panicked when Curley's wife started screaming for help. The men were playing horseshoes right outside the barn. He was desperate to make her stop struggling and screaming. It is noteworthy that something similar happened in Weed, but that time George arrived on the scene in time to intervene. The fact is that Lennie's crime was probably more like accidental manslaughter, since there was no intent to commit murder, or to commit rape, for that matter. But he would have no way of defending himself in a court trial because he didn't have the capability of explaining the circumstances, and there was nobody else to tell what actually happened. It looked much worse than it was. If it ever came to a trial--which was highly unlikely--the prosecutor would have to insist that Lennie was trying to rape the girl. It would be hard to establish that he was trying to murder her.

George and Lennie both have their own specific needs such as physical, economic, social and psychological expectations. These expectations can become obstacles for the men to achieve their American Dream. George and Lennie are stuck in a time of economic crisis. The men only have one real option of making money and that is working on a ranch.

Stephen King once said, “Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They are both fruit, but taste completely different.” The superiority of a film adaptation compared to its original novel is a highly contested topic. Although it is stereotypical to say that a book is always better than its movie; that is not always the case. The 1992 MGM film adaptation directed by Gary Sinise of the 1937 novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is among the few adaptations that can compete against the book.

The chapter begins when agents of the large company arrive, telling the residents that they must leave their own land. Since sharecropping isn’t working, the bank has bought the land to farm. The men representing the company are mean, nice, or cold, but none take responsibility for their actions. It is not their fault, as the bank is responsible, but the bank is simply an organization. Despite the pleas of negotiations for less crops, the representatives don’t bite and insist they must leave the land. The tenants argue that the land belongs to them because their families have been on it for generations, but the bank men reply with negative and trite statements.

Although the film does offer extraordinary imagery and characterization, some still argue that the book is a better representation of the story through its use of mood. Supporters state that Steinbeck’s masterful establishing of mood through his artful diction shows the novel to be superior to the film. They point to the many clever wording and phrasing choices throughout the story, that vividly build the lonely and oppressive atmosphere. These uses of diction, though subtle, manages to powerfully tug at the reader’s heartstrings, immersing them within the story’s somber mood. An example of such great technique can be found in his simple description of Candy while he is in Crooks’ room,“Candy leaned against the wall beside the broken collar

Despite arguments from advocates of the book, the film in fact offers an even more vivid establishment of mood through its splendid acting. The many talented actors in the film powerfully communicates the lonesome mood of the story. Their striking performances bring Steinbeck’s already exceptionally built atmosphere onto an entirely new, lifelike level. Mere use of words on paper is difficult to convey mood in such an eloquent and rich fashion. A major example of this is the outstanding performance of Gary Sinise, as George, towards the end of the film. In this tragic scene, George finds Lennie on their previously decided meeting place in the face of trouble. As the big man questions whether George is going to “give him hell”, the smaller guy’s

Known as Lennie’s caretaker and best friend George Milton is a protagonist of the story Of Mice And Men, but what do we really know about George? George Milton is a quick-tempered but also understanding, lonely and intelligent compared to his bearlike companion Lennie. George's personality often reflects both anger and understanding. Of the two men, he is the one who thinks things through and considers how their goals can be reached. George comes up with the details: where they will get the ranch, how long they must work to pay for it, and how they will have to keep a low profile in order to work for the next month.

Well for one lennie and george they dont agree to often well they do but its like rare.On the other hand tho you can tell Lennie and George love each other like brothers.In the text it states,¨Guys like us ,guys that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.They got no family.They dont belong no place.¨George said this and Lennie disagrees with him saying they do have a future indeed when he says,¨But not us why because i got you and you got me to look after you.¨Kinda saying they got each other and they got a future together.

George starts out by setting the scene that he was hated by a large number of people. That in his daily routine he was insulted by several thousand and this got on his nerves. Also, the white women that went to the bazaar would most defiantly have their dress spit on by the Burmese. This was no place for Europeans and they should leave this wretched place immediately. George hated this job more than he could make clear in his writing. George is showing the hatred that the Burmese had for European’s because of British rule. In the scene with the elephant by the paddy fields, George is torn between two emotions that either make him a hero or he will continually get laughed at and ridiculed by the Burmese. If he didn’t shoot the elephant he would

The readers gain a sense of the reason why the relationship of George and Lennie is important in the novel, this reason is the way that it conveys the key themes. One of the major contrasts found in this novel is between loneliness and companionship. George describes how ranch worker are “the loneliest guys in the world”(page 15 the-world/). This is because they have such a nomadic lifestyle to find jobs during the different seasons of the year and because of this they are never able to settle down in one place “They got no fambly. They don’t belong no place”(page 15, they- place). George continues saying and reassuring Lennie many times in the novel that this is not their situation and they have got each other and we can see this when he says ‘with us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that give a damn about us”(page 15, with us-about us) and Lennie also add “But not us!An’ why? Because …. Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that why”(page 15 and 16, but-that why) This back up Geroge saying that they are like no other ranch man.

When I first read this chapter I thought the shooting of Candy’s dog represented Candy and his old age. The inability to function reflects Candy’s age and how he struggles physically in his job. The shooting shows how eventually he will be unable to work and will have nowhere else to go. However, once I finished the book I see the shooting of Candy’s dog as a way to show Lennie’s own struggles in such a situation.